Center for the Humanities Presents: Digging Music: Archaeology and Soundscapes at Maxville, Oregon, an African American Logging Community

Maxville was a company logging town established in Wallowa County, Oregon, in 1922. Among the 400 residents were many African American families. Years after the town was finally abandoned, descendants of these families have organized the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in Joseph, Oregon, a museum to preserve the townsite, collect oral histories and artifacts, and conduct archaeological research. Recent excavations resulted in the discovery of the location of one of the Black family's homes. Many artifacts have been recovered, including fragments of vinyl records. This project celebrates the lives of Maxville's residents — lives illuminated in the face of segregation and industrial labor practices.

Join us as Mark Axel Tveskov, professor of anthropology at Southern Oregon University and co-director of the archaeological investigation, and Gwendolyn Trice, founder and executive director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, share more about the project.

This event is free and open to the public.

First Event in the CMCR: This event will take place in the newly constructed Center for Material Cultures Research in Archaeology, Art, and Indigenous Studies (CMCR). Located on the fourth floor of Fairbanks Hall, the CMCR offers space for teaching, research, and community engagement about the objects that hold our most valuable cultural meanings. We hope you'll join us and check out the new space.